Welcome to the Tori Kruse Show! Today, we’re honored to kick off the relaunch of our podcast during Mental Health Awareness Month by featuring the incredible Karena Dawn.

Karena is a celebrated mental health advocate, entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, and co-founder of the global fitness community, Tone It Up, and the mental health initiative, The Big Silence.

In this deeply personal episode, Karena shares the trials of her early life, discussing her mother’s battle with schizophrenia which cast a long shadow over her family and deeply impacted her own mental health journey.

Karena shares how she overcame and discovered her strength in fitness, which provided personal refuge and ignited her passion for advocating for others.

Timestamps:

[0:00] Introduction to Karena’s impressive achievements and her multifaceted roles.

[4:23] Karena opens up about her childhood, the profound impact of her mother’s illness, and her first encounters with fitness as a sanctuary.

[8:16] The pivotal moments that led Karena to move to Los Angeles and eventually to the founding of Tone It Up.

[12:35] Exploring the origin and mission of The Big Silence, focusing on mental health advocacy and building supportive communities.

[18:50] Karena discusses the intertwining of entrepreneurship with personal healing and growth.

[28:14] A look into Karena’s future projects and her continued commitment to enhancing wellness and mental health awareness.

Join Tori and Karena in a conversation that not only highlights Karena’s professional triumphs but also dives deep into the personal experiences that have shaped her into the influential figure she is today.

This episode is a powerful testament to the impact of resilience and the ability to transform personal pain into a purpose-driven life.

Resources:

Read The Big Silence – https://thebigsilence.com/pages/memoir/ 

Follow Karena Dawn on Instagram – https://instagram.com/karenadawn

Follow The Big Silence on Instagram – https://instagram.com/the.big.silence